Empire, The 4th Book
by dark dragon rider1
Summary: This is what my imagination has given me for what is to happen in Empire. Much is to come, many suprises, and lots of adventure to come your way. Join me as we take the road my imagination has given me.
1. Introduction

**This is technically my ****second story****, but my first one crash-landed because I can't do good expositions. But since this is a book four, I will only need to add in a few characters here and there, so this one should be better.**

Introduction

_They're alive! __Eragon__! They're alive! _Saphira cried barreling towards him while he, Jormundur, Nasuada, Arya, and Orik were planning their attack on Belatona.

"What? Who? When? …Who?" Eragon blurted out surprised.

_Oromis and Glaedr! They're alive! _She cried with joy.

"What's going on?" asked Jormundur.

"Oromis and Glaedr, our teachers while we were in Ellesmera, which we thought were killed by Murtagh and Thorn, are alive! Well, at least says Saphira." Eragon said skeptically.

_It's true! Oromis contacted me and both he and Glaedr are alive, in great pain, but alive and well! _She just could not contain her joy.

"How?!" he asked suddenly alert despite the fact that he hadn't slept in over 2 days.

_They said the some elves gave their lives to stop them from dying! And now they are back in Ellesmera resting and regaining their strength!_ She said everything like it was more important the death of Galbatorix himself.

"Incredible! Can I talk to them?"

_Unfortunately no, but that's because it drained a lot of energy from him. Glaedr and the other elves, plants, and nearby animals are just for enough energy for them to tell me that he is alive and both of them are expected to make a full recovery._ She said in a less enthusiastic tone.

"Why didn't he use Naegling's energy?" Eragon asked, worried.

_Remember, he dropped it, and he thinks Murtagh stole it and is now in Uru-baen as another…exhibit…in Galbatorix's sword collection._

"Oh," he said, "Can we visit them before the attack on Belatona?"

"Maybe but it will be hard and you will have to travel fast," answered Nasuada.

**Sorry, that it is so short, but I like Glaedr and Oromis too much to write a story without them. So too bad if you prefer them dead.**

**P.S. if you prefer them dead, then you are a sick and twisted person.**


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

_Groan! Grunt! Strain _"Why the hell isn't this working?" growled Murtagh. " I don't understand! This worked on Thorn's egg." wondered Galbatorix. Then a boy, only 13 entered. "My king, I am terribly sorry for disturbing you! But I made you two some tea!" said the boy in a panicked tone. "What for?" asked Galbatorix annoyed. "Well, um… I heard from one of your warlocks that this type of Magic works much better if you are relaxed and not tensed, and I thought that if I made you some tea, you two would be more relaxed and have a better chance of finding it." "I appreciate the offer that you are trying to help, but why are you risking your own life to bring us tea?" questioned Murtagh. "Well when I was only 7 years old, the Varden raided the village that I lived in and killed almost everyone, but I smuggled a horse after they died and I fled. I wound up in Uru-baen where I asked and you granted me to become a slave in the palace, so I was doing everything I could to help you get stronger to slaughter every last bastard in that wretched army. So now, if you get another dragon rider on your side, you will have insane odds against the Varden, dwarves, and elves!" He was crying from the memory as he finished his explanation. "You think like a great general, my 2nd rider that I recruited after Morzan, he planned that every little part of a plan was essential, like you bringing me tea while I was studying to severely increase my power. I respect you for that." Galbatorix told the boy. Then the egg exploded, revealing a small dragon, about the size of a cat, staring at the boy. All 5 were staring at the dragon with awestruck eyes. **The other two are Shruikan and Thorn.**

***

Hundreds of miles away in the Boer mountains, an enormous Urgal, about a foot taller then Garzvhog, was sitting on a ledge, tired from the hiking he had done the past 4 months. Then a large Fanghur rose up over the ledge, smelling the Urzhad he was cooking. But there was a strange feature about this Fanghur, not only the blood stains on its side, but that it had a saddle, bridle, harness, reins and everything else needed for a proper mount. He instantly reached out with his mind to see who could capture a Fanghur and saddle it up. But it somehow, there was no signs of a struggle, fight, or attempt to break from captivity in its mind. He was curios, but not stupid, he grabbed a chain he was carrying and swung it at the monster. It rapped around the now straining creature, as he inched it toward him. As soon as he had it in his reach, he grabbed the reins, took his meat and gave a large chunk to the beast. He then flew toward his destination- the dwarven outpost known as Hedarth.

***

"Ow! I feel like I was stepped on by Glaedr" Oromis groaned as he painfully stood up. "You should rest, that was a hard fall!" said the elf currently keeping watch over Oromis and Glaedr with concern. " I'll be fine. I just… ow! ... Need to move around a bit" he said through gritted teeth as he limped toward the dining hall. _I think he hit the ground to hard. He's gone crazy!_ Thought the elf with disgust. But she shrugged it off and continued to stir the vat of nettle tea for Glaedr, who was just returning from his first actual movement since he returned to consciousness. "Ah! There you are, Glaedr! Your tea is almost done." _Thank you. Um… where is Oromis? _"Oh! He just woke about a minute ago and went to get some bread. He should be back in a few-" she was cut off by the sound of a large flying beast landing near the center of Ellesmera. "Ah! Your visitors are probably here! You should go greet them!" she said with a grin. As they walked in that direction, they heard a sword drawn and a familiar voice say " Give me Tamerlein, or I'll bring your head back with me to accompany it!" it demanded. As he crept closer, they heard a second sword drawn and a voice whom he knew was Oromis', said " Give me your word as a rider or I'll shove my blade through your neck and cleave your head in two!" he snarled. Glaedr poked his head through the tree and saw a dragon, ruby in color, posed as if to pounce on… Oromis! He was shocked but didn't move. Instead he waited. "And what makes you think that a single elf with a dead dragon think he can do against a dragon. Thorn!" he called, "Front and center! Thorn?" he said. _Master! Help! _Ran through Murtagh's mind. He twisted his head, Naegling still resting on his color bone, and gasped. For he saw Thorn's neck, loosely fitted between Glaedr's teeth. "Now drop your sword!" Oromis commanded. Realizing that he had no other choice, he sheathed zar'roc and dropped the sheath. He sighed and said, " What do you want?" he growled through teeth clenched so tightly, if they were any tighter, they would break. "Both you and your dragon must agree that you will leave the forest as soon as possible, with no stops and never return to any depth of this forest as long as long as that wretched Asshole you call king has even the faintest spark of life in him!" "He was considering if he could get out of it in any way, but realizing there were none, just glared at him and said a simple sentence," Vel einradhin iet ai Shu'tugal." "And from you?" he looked at Thorn. He opened up his mind and heard him say _Vel einradhin iet ai Bjartskular. _ He seemed content as he lowered his sword and said, "Now get out before I force out, and don't touch anything inside the forest on your way, or it will be trouble. Murtagh bowed his head then climbed onto Thorn and took off.

**And that's where I'm cutting it off. And about the urgal in the 2****nd**** part, he will be regularly caught up with. And the only thing that I will reveal is that he saves Eragon's life on a few times and has a huge roll in the story. So please review, vote on my poll and add me to at least one favorite/alert. And if you leave a review that is unique, at least 10 words, doesn't ask about something I covered or a future event, you will get an EXCLUSIVE filler in the chapter story.**

**Dark Dragon Rider1 (By the way, My name doesn't define me)**


	3. Chapter 3

Sorry about not updating for a while. My sister had a lot of homework, and we have only one Computer in our house. Hope you like it. And I now have a review rule: If you can't say anything in a nice way, keep your yap shut.

Chapter 3

As they landed in Ellesmera, Eragon quickly dismounted and ran to where Oromis was being healed. "Master! I saw Murtagh!" Oromis just kept sipping his tea, when he was done he calmly explained "Oh you needn't worry about the arrogant one, he was to closed-eared to hear me when I snuck up on him and he will not return to Du Weldenvarden until this war is over. I'll explain later. So how have you been doing." He said with a content grin. "You don't understand! He was flying away with a sword hanging from his waist, and Saphira could tell that it wasn't Zar'roc; he was wielding it at the time. I think he may have stolen Tamerlein!" Eragon exclaimed. "What?!" Oromis growled, suddenly angry. "He gave his word that he would cause no more trouble, or even return to this forest as he left as quickly as possible! He must've taken it before I caught him!" he sounded worried now. "But master, what possible use could Galbatorix have for a rider's sword, he has one of his own, plus about 500 more that he took from the others he killed." He dropped his teacup and his grew wide and he started panting like Galbatorix was standing before him. "He got another dragon to hatch." He said with dismay. "Wait, not all is lost." Eragon said with a barely hopeful tone. "Explain yourself Eragon," he inquired. " Solembum's prediction!" he said with rising enthusiasm. "You did it already: When the time comes and you need a weapon, look under the roots of the Menoa tree, you did that and got Brisingr." He said. "He also said: Then _when all seems lost and your power is insufficient, _go to the rock of Kuthian and speak your name unto the vault of souls. It fits our situation precisely!" he exclaimed. "Just one problem, where IS the rock of Kuthian? And since I don't know, I bet you'll have a very hard time finding someone who does." "Oh really, I bet Solembum would know where it is, especially since he told me about it" Eragon retorted. "That would be accurate, I taught you well and you passed. Before you ask, I was only testing you, I was making sure that you hadn't forgotten your lessons, and I think you should return to the Varden and prepare the attack on the remaining parts of the empire." "Yes master" "No, you don't need to call me master, there is nothing more I could teach you, now, I am Oromis-elda." Eragon nodded, leaped onto Saphira and they flew away, back towards the Varden.

***

Roran was walking to the sparring grounds to train his skills with a sword that he knew, if not liked, he had to use. But when he got there, he saw some of the soldiers gearing up for battle. "What's going on?" he urgently asked Jormunder. "The empire mounted a small scale attack on the Varden! We need all soldiers to come, we don't know if they are those 'laughing dead' who can't seem to die." Roran nodded as he drew his hammer and loaded his crossbow ready to shoot. The soldiers were lining up on the hill, but the soldiers were inhumanly fast and managed to circle around the group and storm into the camp. They turned and ran back to the camp ready to kill anyone who tries to harm their families and livelihoods. Some of the women, like Elaine and Gertrude, were trying to escape due to their inability to hold their own against the soldiers. But others, like Birgit and, much to Roran's anger, Katrina were grabbing tools to fight. Katrina grabbed a burning stick from a nearby fire and was burning men's faces off, while Birgit was dealing out some strong hits with a shovel. Roran was just making it to camp, when maybe 100 yards away, he heard Katrina scream, a soldier grabbed her wrist and broke it so badly, it went completely limp and she had no control of it whatsoever. That was more then enough to drive Roran to insanity. He ran the distance in a matter of seconds "ROOOOOOAAAAAAAAARRRRR!!" the savage war cry involuntarily escaped his lips as he covered the distance. He then clubbed the soldier in the head, and kept slugging him again and again until he was just a bloody pile of Armour and guts. He then picked up Katrina and carried her all the way over the hill and let he down next to the stream flowing into the ocean. "Put your hand in here" he told her, the water was ice cold so it should relieve the swelling. He took his crossbow, made a small fire, lit the arrow on the tar coated bolt, the shot it strait and true square in the sail, setting it ablaze, not big enough to cause real damage, but he new it would spread quickly Then he saw a huge arrow fly through the air, also on fire, and realized it was a ballista bolt that broke and started to burn the side of the hull, the ship was going down slowly, but it was fast enough. Roran loosed another bolt of fire and hit the other side of the sail. Then he checked on Katrina, tears were still streamlining down her face. It was then that he decided he needed help to fix her wrist. He ran back into the battle, caught the first elf he saw, "Get Blodgharm, tell him to meet me on top of the hill." The elf ran away as Roran went back to Katrina. Blodgharm was there in about 2 minutes. "You summoned, stronghammer?" He asked. "Yes, I plead that you will heal Katrina, she was injured by a soldier." "No problem. Waise, Heil!" and with that, her purple wrist deflated and she regained use of it, a merely sprained wrist now. "Oh thank you sir! I can't tell you how happy I am that you did this for me!" she exclaimed. "My pleasure, ma'am." He said with an elven bow.

***

"I'm telling you! I'm a friend of the dwarves! I showed you the badge! It means that I have done them a great service and I am eligible to partake in dwarf trades!" the urgal exclaimed. "Tell me your name and I will believe you." Said the dwarf. "My name is Oulranken!" he said in the ancient language, "But you probably know me as Ketzek. That was my name when I was a fugitive by my own kind, humans, and elves, and since I didn't want to become one here to, so I made up a name!" he told the skeptical dwarf. "I don't see how I can make it any more clearer as to me being an _ally _of not only the Varden, but also blood feuding with Galbatorix for 13 generations, it happened with my so-many-greats-grandfather who was a bitter enemy of Galbatorix's ancestor, who then stole from him and started a blood feud, now here I am!" he was speaking in naught but the ancient language to the dwarf magician. "What do you need?" he said at last. "Supplies, my sling ripped, my sword is dull and my whetstone fell into the river. I am low on food, and the creatures here are too large and powerful to kill with my bare hands whenever I, and now my pet, Germonhiem, need to eat, especially since he can't hunt for a while on account of his cracked jaw and 3 chipped teeth. I could use a new whetstone, A hunting weapon large enough for me to use, and some food, I set out to aide the Varden, and I need supplies to get us through the deadly Beor Mountains. It is dangerous in there, so please just enough to get me to Surda." Oulranken asked. "Of course sir. I will fetch you a whetstone, make a large sling for you, and supply you with 2 nagra, as well as a few javelins," he told him. "Thank you, my good man" he replied. 2 hours later the dwarf returned with a cart of 2 freshly killed nagra, 5 bronze tipped javelins, a thick leather sling with hard leather chords for strings, and a whetstone of a 1-foot diameter. "I thank you sire, I shall repay you someday. If we both survive, that is." He told him. "Just one more thing," the dwarf said, "where did you acquire a fanghur of not only this size, but how were you able to tame and saddle it up." "I didn't, look…" and he cast a spell and the dwarf saw the moment in time when the urgal acquired his rare mount. "Fascinating" the dwarf whispered. Then the urgal took off upon his mount.

**That is where the cut off is. The proposition about the exclusive chapter is done.**


	4. Chapter 4

Sorry if you don't think I'm updating often enough, but if you read the author's note last chapter, you will know why. And don't forget to vote on my poll!

Chapter 4

Wing was rushing into Eragon's face like a hammer as Saphira 'sprinted' in a flying motion. He looked down just in time to see the edge of Du Weldonvarden fly out of view as plains took the scene, but they seemed to have creatures that Eragon did not recognize, through even his elf vision, blurred as it was, could tell that they were large brown herding brutes, with small horns, but a body that looked strong enough to support a kull as a war mount. And on the Horizon, was Isenstar Lake. They planned to stop on the other side of the lake and talk with the elf queen, Islanzadi. He had a concern that was keeping him up for many nights since they won the battle at Feinster. He had been hoping to find an excuse to go talk to her about it. As they were talking about raids on the major cities, Dras-Leona and Belatona, It was brought up by Fadawar that they should attack Dras-Leona first because it is the biggest trading outpost in the empire, and if they get word from a spy that they just attacked Belatona and were coming for them next, but they could send all their supplies and soldiers to Uru-Baen while they evacuate the city, thus strengthening the empire's chances against the Varden, so they decided upon attacking Dras-Leona first. But the thought that was devouring him was Teirm. Teirm could still send reinforcing ships to Belatona, Eragon had planned to have the elves Cut off any passage to the world, outside of ships which would have to travel for miles in a giant circle just to get to the future ruin of Belatona, they might be at best, 12 hours late, and they had no wish to stomp everyone in the empire, especially the innocent men who were only guards whose purpose was to keep order and serve the public in a way that keeps them safer from harm. An amount of hours later, The Lake was only a few minutes away, maybe 3-4 hours before he could consult with the queen of the elves about trampling the mountain pass and cutting off Teirm, Thus cutting off Teirm as well as Narda. Kuasta was already secluded, Therinsford was a village, not very much of an edge, Carvahal was flattened, Yazuac and Daret were destroyed while Eragon was in the empire with Brom, and the elves took Ceunon and Gil-ead. And the Varden took Aroughs and Feinster. That left The Leona Lake cites, Uru-Baen, and the three small towns, Bull ridge, Furnost, and Melian, along with a handful of small villages like Eastcroft. When he voiced his opinions to Saphira, she merely said, "_You have grown wise, little one." _ Then it was silence until they reached Gil-ead.

***

He was walking around, looking for Islanzadi, when he found her sparring with another using a weapon that he remembered hearing from Fredric that it was called a partisan, with a weapon master, he could tell merely by his complicated maneuvers, but even so, Islanzadi hard pressed him with insane skill, after almost five minutes, she swung her tool and disarmed him.

"Wow! That was great your highness!" Eragon commented, openly impressed. She was so into her fight, that she didn't even realize he was there, and from her surprise, whirled and pressed the tip of her partisan to his chin before she realized it was he.

"Oh! Eragon, I apologize, but for the record, you shouldn't sneak up on an elf, it could be hazardous to your health. Now what do you wish to talk to me about?" she said.

"Well, you see, I have a few concerns with our plan of attack. You see, we plan to destroy all the major cities, but I keep thinking about Teirm, it is just as big as Belatona, and it could send reinforcements to Uru-baen as well as supplies, so I was wondering if you could send an amount of magicians to Woadark Lake to close up the mountain pass, thus cornering them so they can't do anything to help the empire." He told her.

"I too have been thinking about that, and I agree that 120 elves, all of which can use magic to an extent. So you only want us to trap them, not destroy them? Correct?" she clarified.

"Yes. Now could you explain to me why you have a partisan and a sword? By the way, what kind of sword is it anyway?"

"Oh, this," she said drawing the sword, "is a flamberge. Rhunon made it for me. As for your first question, I have used this weapon in a sparring match a long time ago, an elf made it for me, his name was Artenjahm, he was a great friend of Rhunon's. Though not on her level of smithing, he was fantastic, as he took lessons from her. But he was killed in the fall because he refused to make partisans for all the riders who asked. But this was his last, I have killed 15 riders with it, and 4 of their dragons, as they dueled me for it, and being a queen, I cannot coward away from a challenge, else I would be stripped of my throne. So I was forced to kill with my flamberge, then I returned their swords to their master, Rhunon. Does that answer everything?" she asked.

"I think so," He said, "And I have bad news, very bad news. Galbatorix got another dragon to hatch, and Murtagh stole Tamerlein!"

"Shit!" Eragon was surprised to hear the queen curse.

"But I am going to ask Solembum to take me to the rock of Kuthian so we can find the hope that we need to defeat Galbatorix's forces."

"I wonder though, why didn't you do that from the start? You asked almost every elf in Ellesmera, and they didn't know, so why didn't you ask them while you were still in the Varden?"

"I guess it slipped my mind, especially since there was never a moment that there wasn't something or other happening. Well I had best be off, we are soon to raid Belatona" he said before climbing onto Saphira and took off towards the Varden.

***

"You have done well my servant. You have gotten the sword, yet you did not even sustain even minor injury. How is that? I must know." Said the evil dictator as Murtagh and Thorn approached him. So Murtagh told his tale, in the ancient language, and really seemed to upset him. " Those low-life, cowardly, pathetic bastards! They can't do anything that doesn't involve forcing someone to swear an oath of some sort! Now go and defeat Eragon and Saphira, drag them back here, and then I will force her to breed with one of the dragons and thus create my own army of Dragon riders! Do not fail me, or you will sustain 80 lashes with on ox tail!" Yelled Galbatorix. " Yes my king." He said with a quick bow as he then climbed onto Thorn, drew Zar'roc, and took off, ready to finally settle things with his brother.

**Longer one then usual, huh? Now I expect more reviews then I have been getting, and the brown beasts that Eragon saw from Saphira's back are to be revealed later. But guess when you review, I may tell you if you are right. (Key word- may)**


	5. Chapter 5

Hey guys, in the last chapter, I kind of made a mistake, I said they were going to raid Belatona, well, that was a mistake. I meant to say Dras-Leona. And since you people have no imagination (quote from mouse during battle in narnia, prince Caspian), the brown beasts were bison.

Chapter 5

_That coward shall fall before my power! _Was Murtagh's current heart beat, his body was shaking with the excitement of getting to strike Eragon down, as he knew Thorn was now larger than Saphira.

_Yes, master I have had a great urge to fight, as Shruikan is to large, and Emnasia too small, Saphira is the closest to my size, she is a very formidable opponent, it is a good feeling to defeat one of the only beings in Alagaesia who are this close match to us._ Said Thorn with a surge of anger

_Indeed, only Eragon does not have a proper sword, only that sharpened piece of aluminum. That will make it almost not worth it, no truly worthy trophy, such as Galbatorix has always done. He always stole the sword, and now he has them labeled in a room in his castle, with an eldunari next to most of them. Imagine, the sapphire blue eldunari next to the falchion, the label saying, "This is the sword of Eragon, he was to weak to be aloud to use a proper riders' sword like the rest of them." _He laughed at the thought; Thorn gave him a sense of bad humor, the kind of a predator wishing for prey that was worth more effort.

I sense them near called Thorn with anticipation.

_Time to finish things with mine brother! _The sense of Eragon nearby made him furious.

"Eragon! Face me you coward! Face me or live with the shame that you rightfully deserve for serving those murderous barbarians you call the varden!" he yelled at his half-brother.

"Let's finish this!" he yelled back at him as Saphira was now flying back at them. At dusk, a fight can be a bad omen for the survivors. They drew their swords at the same time, and in the split-second before the clashed Eragon yelled the word, "Brisingr!" and the sword was a glowing blue slaughter weapon, designed to cut even the hardest of armor and weaponry. The force that they struck each other was so great, hundreds of sparks were sent flying as both their arms were forced back. But before Murtagh could do so much as blink, Eragon slashed his sword over his head, Saphira was flying upside down over top of Thorn, and he saw blood fall to the ground, along with most of a strong, armored arm. He looked at Murtagh, who was screaming in pain, and saw only the stump of his right shoulder, much like what Glaedr looked like. He decided that He should only let him go, after one quick spell.

"Erdofnut oet abr omeig Wirgmin!" **I created this phrase that means: turn this wound into a stump. **And then, right before their eyes, skin grew over the unconscious Murtagh; who feinted due to loss of blood. Thorn, who could not fight with Murtagh out cold on his back, used his size, thus speed, and shot towards Uru-Baen. Saphira turned and continued on their way to the varden.

***

Ketzek flew on his mount toward Surda, he was almost to the end, he was four mountains away from the end of the range, and so he stopped and camped. He tied his mount to a tree and went to get some food. He saw a herd of feldunost; he grabbed a rock, swung his sling, and killed a large one and the rest fled over a large boulder. _This can't be enough for us both tonight. But it's all we have, especially since we ate the last nagra last night. _He thought as he carried the dwarven mount back to his camp. He lit a fire and started to cook it. _**BOOM! **_There was a large crash. _**BOOM! **_There it was again. The urgal drew his sword, got on his mount to keep it safe while giving Ketzek a view of the area near camp. _**BOOM! **_Then he realized that he couldn't use his sword if he was flying, so he jumped off, grabbed stones for his sling, then he climbed back up onto his fanghur. _**BOOM! BANG! **_And almost 30 hunger-driven, insane urgals burst into his camp, started eating his meat and tearing his camp apart. _**Thud! **_He killed one with a stone _**Thud! **_Another. _**Thud! Thud! Thud! **_3 more fell before his sling. _**FTTT! FTTT! FTTT! FTTT! FTTT! FTTT! FTTT! **_A rain of arrows came down and killed the remainder of them, and before he quite knew what happened, a band of dwarves dropped into the clearing. There was a surge of pain, great pain even to an urgal of his size, in the back of his head. And in the moments before he lost consciousness, he saw a series of ropes bring his fanghur down and drag it back to wherever they came from.

***

"57…58…59 " The man chanted every time the ox tail struck Murtagh's bare back, especially hard on his scar, which came on the ten count. _I will not kill that bastard, I will torment him, and torment him, then heal him, then torment him until I die of old age in my dragon rider's years!! _Thought Murtagh with a hatred so intense, he makes Eragon's hatred of the empire seem like friendship in comparison. "66…67…68…" _No, Thorn, Are they flogging you too? _

_No, just every ten lashes on you, I get a 2 hand sword in my side, It is almost done, but I can't sustain this kind of pain for too long, still 2…AAAGGGHHH… 1 more to go! Master help me! Please!_

_I wish I could, but I'm being magically confined to this post! _ "78…79…80…81! He is tormented enough, let him go!" And they pulled the swords out of Thorn, and untied Murtagh. He wobbled over to the table were Zar'roc and his dagger were sitting, took them, and threw the dagger at the man who had shoved swords in Thorn, killing him instantly. Then the other men in the room came at him, men who were dead in a matter of 3 seconds. And because of the anti-magic drug, he couldn't heal Thorn; he couldn't even dull the pain. And his last sentence before he plopped down, face first on his bead in his room, was simple: "Eragon is going to pay." And they fell unconscious.

**So how'd you like it? Please r&r**


	6. Chapter 6

**Sorry it took so long to update, just the 4****th**** quarter started in my school and my teachers are giving a lot of homework to give us a head start on the quarter or something. I hope you enjoy.**

Chapter 6

"What do you want from me?!" snarled Ketzek at the dwarves who tied him to a post.

"Who are you? What were you doing in our land? Why were you killing so much of our game in one night? How many are traveling with you? You better call off that attack or I'll personally flog you to death!" yelled a dwarf clothed in expensive looking robes as he held a hunting knife to his throat.

"My name is Ketzek. I am traveling through the Beor Mountains on my way to the Varden in order to help them defeat Galbatorix. As you could see, were you not so blind with prejudice towards my race, my pet is a large and hard working beast that requires much food. It is just I, I am alone, banished from all races accept the dwarves, and if you look in my baggage, you will find a badge, the kind that the king gives out to humans, elves, and rarely urgals who have done a great service to his or her clan. I aided Brom and Joed when they recovered the dragon, Saphira's egg from Gil'ead; I barely escaped with my life." He answered coldly. Then, in the ancient language, added, "Everything I have told you is truth."

The dwarf scowled at him, pressed the knife harder, just hard enough to draw blood, showed no signs of stopping. But just then, a dwarf burst out, "Nado! He speaks the truth. His badge is right here! It proves he is a dwarf-friend!"

"What can we provide you with? Supplies? Guards? An Army? What?" said Nado in fear as he removed the knife from the urgal's neck.

"I wasn't planning on it, but I believe that if I present the Varden with an army instead of just myself, they would be more willing to trust me. So how many soldiers can you allow me to bring?" he knew he would get a high number since they untied him and he was almost 3x as tall as the dwarf, who was now shaking with fear.

"As m-m-many as y-y-y-you w-want. I w-w-will even come m-m-myself if y-y-you w-w-want." He stammered.

"I will take as many soldiers as you are willing to provide."

***

_WOOOOOOOOOOSSSSHHHH! _Roran looked up in time to see an enormous blue dragon fly overhead. He sheathed his sword and sprinted towards Nasuada's pavilion where Eragon was dismounting about a quarter mile away.

"Hail! Shadeslayer!" he cheered with a smile on his face.

"Hail! Stronghammer!" His cousin cheered back. And as he made it to Eragon, they hugged each other with a love only brothers could share.

"How goes your master? Is he going to be able to fight with us in the raid on Dras-Leona?" Roran questioned with an emotion that was both serious and happy.

"Unfortunately, he can't fight again until we fight the king himself. But he is able to move around without too much trouble. And he no longer is my master, he told me that there is nothing more he can teach me, all I have yet to learn are life lessons." He responded, "Now I must go consult with Nasuada and Orrin, they will want to know that I have returned." And with that he hiked up into the crimson pavilion and presented himself to the ruler of the Varden. He bowed and said "My Lady. I bring great news!"

"What has happened that makes you present yourself with rags on your body instead of real clothes a rider should have?"

"First of all, this isn't the big news but the elves are going to corner off Teirm for us by magically tearing down the pass in witch the Toark River runs through. But the great news is, I fought Murtagh again and-"

"What?! How is it good news that you fought your arch enemy without your guards?"

"If you would've let me finish, you would've known that I cut off his right arm. He's a right hand fighter. No questions."

"Alright, go and get cleaned up, then meet me in the dining hall in an hour, you look like you could eat a heard of cows."

"Thank you, My Lady." He bowed and departed.

*$*

After he changed into clean clothes and bathed, he went to the tent at the far west side of the encampment and saw Angela tearing up snakeskin and tossing them into her newest potion. Upon hearing his approach, she jumped up and ran over to him.

"Eragon! How have you been? Where is Saphira? You're not eating era wax, aren't you?"

"Um… fine. She's getting a small bite before our meal. And no, I haven't. I came to ask Solembum a few questions. Where is he?" as if in answer, a black blur suddenly flashed in front of Eragon that turned out to be the werecat.

_You called? _He asked.

"Yes, I have a question about your prediction, the one from way back in Teirm. I found the 'weapon' under the Menoa Tree, but where is the rock of Kuthian? Even my master is stumped trying to find its location, and you haven't seen his library."

Ah, but you forget one crucial piece of information, I said "When all seems lost and your power is insufficient" what makes you think that now is that time?

With a blank expression Eragon simply responded, "Galbatorix got another egg to hatch."

Mmm Hmm. I see. Well that would be a bad thing. Very well, we shall leave tomorrow morning.

"Wait. What?! Where is it? We can't just go there without a plan! We don't even know what lives there!" Eragon exploded.

_Correction. _You _don't. I do. You have seen it before; it was a large part of your past. It has many names; but you probably know it as Utgard._

**XD. Ya, I know, I'm mean. But what is a fan-fic if you don't have cliffhangers? Right? Tell me what you think.**


	7. Chapter 7

Hey guys, how come I'm not getting any reviews? I would be fine with just saying hi and a brief thought on the chapter! I just want a review that doesn't insult me! …Sorry I lost my mind for a minute. I just want a few more reviews than I have been getting. You people are lucky I want to write more of this story; otherwise I would put limits on it. This is the big Kuthian's hope chapter

Disclaimer: The only characters I own are the ones you will not find in any of the books, and it is kind of like a borrow of sorts on Galbatorix, Shruikan, and Thorn because they never really come in with real lines.

Chapter 7

"Huh?!" Eragon asked dumbfounded.

_Its true, I have been there many times in my several hundred years._

"Ya, well, I think the people from Therinsford or maybe Carvahal would notice an army training in the most commonly visited mountain in the Palancar valley."

_Who said anything about an army?_

"How else can you find hope to defeat 3 dragon riders with insane magic skills?"

_Tell me something. How would an army assist you in the battle against dragons and riders, especially if you fight above the city or in the castle?_

"Hmm. Good point. But still, what could be strong enough to help me defeat a magician many times stronger than myself?"

_One simple word: dragon._

Eragon stood there in shock. "But how? Somebody was sure to find an entrance somewhere in the few hundred years its been there! And it couldn't hunt without leaving the mountain, and if it did, surely someone from a nearby village would see it and report it to the king who would search the entire valley until he found it!"

Have you learned nothing from Helgrind? The concealed entrance that is at the very top, higher than anyone would ever survive, the secret entrance, it could come out somewhere in the Spine and hunt without fear of sight.

"That is true. So tomorrow?"

_Crack of dawn._

***

Oromis and Glaedr were standing at Rhunon's forge, trying to find out what could be a suitable temporary replacement for his beloved and lost blade, Naegling.

"You made a smart choice coming to me to find out how you can fight without Naegling. What is your style of fighting? Wait don't tell me! I can tell, let me see your arms." Oromis removed his cloak so all he was wearing were his trousers and sleeveless tunic.

"Muscular, thin enough to provide grace and agility, yet a powerful swing. You prefer to fight with a long, thin blade that is easy to maneuver and can easily slice armor. Am I wrong?"

"No. I mainly prefer one-handed blows, but there are enough times that I need a two-handed swing in order to allow me to leave a deadly blow without taking some insane risk like Eragon seems to do a lot."

"I think I can do something like that, it won't be exact, nor will it be a rider's sword, but I will place the most powerful wards I am capable of to prevent it from breaking except under the most severe amount of pressure. Such as being slammed as hard and as fast as you can onto a large rock multiple times. I do believe that they will be able to withstand the pressure of sword fighting with Galbatorix or his pets, for a few hours that is."

"Thank you Rhunon-elda." Oromis said before he left to gather energy in the diamond he had cut for his new sword from a few of the trees that were large enough to withstand a suitable drain, and to help a few creatures who were doomed, such as a few flies caught in a spider web, not affecting the spider, but helping the flies.

***

One hour before dawn

"Solembum told me to bring as many weapons as I can, so how do think this is," he said to Roran.

"I have: Brisingr, my hunting knife, a dagger on each boot, a pole ax on my back, my bow, and I even have Murtagh's old hand-and-a-half sword. Those sound good to you?"

"That sounds almost like too much. But hey. If you can carry all that with ease, I won't stop you." His cousin said with a smile. "I feel as if you just got back, now you're leaving again."

"That's because I did just get back, and don't worry, When we get back, it will be a big crowd, we will have another dragon to fight on our side and then we will smash Galbatorix's forces with a dragon that is a hell of a lot bigger than his new dragon. Well, we have to get ready to go, we will be departing in about an hour and we need to get some provisions. I will miss you." Eragon started to depart when Roran stopped him.

"Guess what I forgot to tell you? I can start to use magic! See?" he picked a pebble out of the dirt and concentrated "Stenr Risa!" and the pebble started to move, it didn't lift, but it was shaking in his palm, just like it was about to go shooting above the stars.

"Impressive! How many times have you tried that before?"

"About 30, maybe 40." He replied, slightly embarrassed.

"Great, now keep trying and eventually you may lift it with ease." He replied with a taste of congratulations.

**45 minutes later**

As dawn was almost coming, Eragon was finishing up putting a few more provisions onto Saphira's back when he heard some footsteps from the camp. He turned to see Solembum padding towards him with only a stringer of walleyes around his back with his ever-present dagger lashed next to it. Only next to him was Angela with a small pack on her shoulder.

"Angela? What are you doing here?" Eragon asked.

"Well I like to be where things are going on, and I think that finding a dragon that could be the salvation of the elves, dwarves, urgals, and humans throughout all of Alegaesia would be very important. Don't you agree?"

"Well, yes. But with you along with me would be very draining of our speed, though I'm sure there is something you could do for the Varden if you stay here." Eragon tried to convince her without success.

"Face the facts Angela, You know Eragon is gonna screw _something_ up on this mission, so I suggest that instead of you going, I do because I can use magic, am naturally more powerful than you in sword fighting, plus I know Eragon more than you so I can predict his actions easier."

"Gee, thanks Arya. I was almost about to convince Angela that I'm not the idiotic, klutzy, ignorant child I was when we were in Teirm. Now you just smashed all that hard work. Thanks."

"Good to see you, too Eragon." She responded flatly.

"You raise a great point Arya, but Eragon did say that he needed to save weight so they could get there in a timely manor."

"No worries." She cast a spell that was too fast to understand. "Now I way no more than that leaf floating in the breeze over there. Before you comment I have done this before." Angela nodded with an expression of disapproval, though she didn't say anything. Then, as soon as they climbed onto Saphira jumped up and flew away, Solembum, in his cat form to reduce weight, was sitting in a small pack added onto the saddlebags.

_Wake me up when we are going to land for the night. _He said before yawning, curling into a ball, and falling asleep.

I think this is my longest chapter yet. Now I have a favor to ask you. I need a new name for the "Kuthian Dragon". It doesn't have to have a relation to the dragon itself (ex. Saphira=sapphire) or have any reason for it, just sound cool. And try to get something that could fit males and females, I still don't know what it is. Ty.Dark Dragon Rider1 


	8. Chapter 8

Sorry about not updating in a while, but you know how some people get writers block? Well I got the whole pallete. But thanks for the amount of reviews guys, literally. I like some of the ideas you submitted to me for the dragon, which I am naming Faron, courtesy of Kyuubilord, for suggesting some great names. I still need some suggestions for the rider who is with Galbatorix. Try to use good names that we don't have around here. Use uncommon names.

BTW: the new dragon will not be blue, it will be silver.

Chapter 8

"What are we to do with you?" Galbatorix asked his newest dragon rider.

"Whatever you please, my king. I will endure it as long as Emnasia is not hurt. I could not bear to see him tortured for something I did. So please, allow him to escape punishment." The young rider begged.

"Give me a full detailed account of what you did." The king ordered.

"It all started when I was training with Tamerlein and some archers were nearby at the archery targets. Emnasia simply watched as Murtagh and I sparred. He was more than a match for me, but I was determined to defeat him. I was so into the fight that I never noticed the JUDO point arrow that flew over Murtagh and me and stuck into Emnasia's neck, not lethally, but enough to K-O him for a while. I frantically searched for the archer who was using 6 prong JUDO points. I saw none, so I told them that until someone fesses up, I would have them tortured until they confessed to it. One man claimed he did it, but I could tell he was covering for someone. So I used my sword to make him bleed by the neck, he then squealed that it was the man that was three down from him. He lost his head in a second. Then I killed the man who covered for him. The other soldiers got pissed because the 2nd man was in harsh debt to the other man and he figured that they would be even and I killed him because of that. I said that his debts were not my problem and he was an accomplice of a criminal, so I killed him. Than they came after me, so I killed them for my own defense. That's when that squire saw me, right during the time I was killing them, so he blabbed to you what he thought he saw, thinking I was killing decent archers for practice."

"You are not lying?"

"Vel einradhin iet ai Shur'tugal." He said in a scared voice.

"Then no further punishment shall be necessary. Having your mind-linked partner's life in jeopardy is torment, especially since he is still in a lot of pain. It may only appear to be a minor wound, but JUDO points are effective that way, small wounds, but a lot of pain, since they carve nerves, gives a shock to cut all the nerves in that area, thus giving excruciating pain. That is why we use only use JUDO points. Blunt points are just flat, bullet points come out too easily, field arrows are too dull, fish points don't go into flesh right, they are good for scales, but dragons are too strong for them. And broad heads take too much iron for each head, but JUDO points are very effective, cheap, and stand themselves up when they land on the ground."

"That would make a lot of sense."

"Now you should go rematch Murtagh, he will be waiting for it." Galbatorix said with a hint of warning.

***

As Ketzek led the army of dwarves that couldn't leave with Hrothgar while he marched towards the Battle on the Burning Plains, his troops consisted of about 200 dwarves with armor, an axe/mace/war hammer/crossbow, and an ability to use magic to at least some slight extent, such as straining to lift the pebble. He may not like the build of dwarves with their stubby limbs, short stature, and bearded face, but he respected them as warriors, nevertheless. In the 4 days since he got his troops, he had encountered 60 slavers who tried to capture an amount of them; he captured them and forced them to swear loyalty to him in the ancient language, so they became his soldiers even though they're not the kind he wanted. He hated humans beyond reason, not only because of the whole blood feud with Galbatorix, but because he fought a few soldiers on the burning plains before fleeing to the dwarves to get troops, they mocked him for fleeing and using magic to slay about 120 of them as he fled from them. But he still did not refuse the chance to get more soldiers to help destroy the empire. He was lost in thought that he barely noticed when the mountains he had seen nothing but for the past 2 weeks were gone and he saw a plain, not the burning plains, but it was doubtlessly Surda on the horizon, and he was only maybe 4 more days from the Varden where he would join the troops together and fight the legion of the empire.

"So, why is your family at blood feud with Galbatorix?" One of the dwarf commanders asked him.

"Because, it was my great great grandfather who led the group of urgals that killed his dragon. Now he has all of us he can killed." He answered coldly.

"Interesting. What do you think the Varden will do to us? Will they attack us, accept us, or just expel us from their ranks?" the dwarf asked.

"I don't know. But they'll probably be accepting, not very trusting, but accepting of some amount of empire-hating soldiers who will fight with them to destroy the empire."

***

At dusk, Saphira landed in a small forest.

"Eragon, You, Solembum and I should make camp, Saphira, can you go get dinner?" Arya barked.

"Ok." Eragon agreed and started gathering firewood. Solembum froze then jumped into a bush, there was a struggle going on but then Solembum jumped out with some bloody cuts carrying a coon. He then moved over to the fire laid down and said

_Nasty things around here, not like the little devils back at Teirm._ Then he started eating his catch. Several minutes later, Saphira came back with a pronghorn in her mouth and a wild boar in her talons.

_I've never had one of these before, what do you call them?_

"Pronghorn antelope, a type of deer that is slightly smaller than the reds you're used to." Upon that they cooked the pig, ate then went to sleep, alternating between the four of them every hour.

Once Again, I'm sorry about not updating. Hope you like it, please review.


	9. Chapter 9

I'm back. My story is going to take a lot of turns in a short time, and who knows who the newest rider will be, only that it CANNOT BE RORAN because I won't make Katrina a rider. By the way, I didn't want to have to do this, but due to the pitiful amount of reviews, even in proportion to my readers, but I have a bottomless sack of cliffhangers, especially one to end this story. You've been warned, review, or face the consequences. Enjoy.

Chapter 9

_Clang! Clang! Clang! _ It was all Angela could hear as she walked through the sparring fields to meet the leader of Du Vrangr Gata in a huthvir match. Trianna made a makeshift one by attaching long dagger blades to a spear haft. She found her rivaled frenenemy (ally who you dislike). Two minutes into their 5th match, all of which Angela won; Nasuada came mounted on battle storm with Jormunder and Garzhvog on either side of her.

"Attention! Men… Attention…" She sighed and nodded to Garzhvog who took in a deep breath and bellowed a roar that caused Battle-Storm and Tornac to lose control and made all the Varden, dwarves, urgals, and surdans within a ½ mile radius pay attention.

"Men, prepare yourselves, for in 3 days, we march onward to slaughter Dras-Leonna. The most powerful resistance army since my father's early years leading the Varden, is about to become offensive!" She then rode off to the equestrian field, then the siege engine grounds, and lastly, the armada that Orrin has ready for this very moment, it consisted of 50 frigates, 25 galleons, 15 fireships, and a spread amount of sloop gunboats, all ready to fire their deadly ammo of javelins set afire and shot from the limbs of a deadly strong ballistae.

* * *

2 days after leaving Surda, Eragon saw over Saphira's shoulder what remained of Daret. They landed in the village for the night and 54 archers popped up and a man Eragon recognized stepped forward and asked

"You're you," he asked with a barely noticed hint of fear.

"Your name's Trevor, isn't it? Eragon responded

"How'd ya guess? Yer not one o' them officers of the empire 'cause I didn't do nothing'!" he growled.

"No, I met you before, about a year ago, my name is Eragon. Eragon Shadeslayer. We passed by and bought provisions, there was an old man with a raspy voice and bandaged arm, we told you about Ya'zuac being slaughtered by urgals" Eragon prodded

"Yer a dragon rider? Thas why you needed gloves! To hide yer palm! I 'member ya now!" he said.

"Yes, and I have a question to ask you. Are you willing to join the Varden, we could use an extraaaa 61 men. If memory serves." Eragon said, a little nervous.

"6 of m'men died. I will consult with th'rest o' my famly." He said. Eragon knew that by family, he meant his men. Arya said nothing, and Trevor paid no attention to her.

* * *

After more than a month of traveling, Ketzek finally saw the burning plains on the horizon. His men were battered and hungry, but not to a point of insanity. When they got to the camp, a dark skinned woman followed by 8 guards, 4 urgralgra and 4 dwarves mounted on llamas. She had a large black horse and a hard face. The largest urgralgra stepped foreword with the woman. He said something quietly to the woman. She nodded and said something quiet back.

_RRRRROOOOOAAAAAAARRRRR! _He cut loose a deafening roar.

_RRRRRROOOOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR! _Ketzek Responded. Then they whacked heads hard enough to crack a block of steel.

"What is your business here? If you are found unworthy or untrustworthy, you and all your men will be forced away or killed." He ordered with an authority disproportional to his smaller size.

"I am Ketzek. I have been traveling the Beor mountains for some time and ran into some dwarves who dragged me back to their city and I showed them this." And he produced the amulet that he now carried on his neck.

"Truth" said one of the dwarves.

"What?" Said the large urgralgra.

"He speaks the truth, not a human, dwarf, urgal, nor even elf that can make a copy of that item, I would know, I made one." The small man replied.

"As I was saying, then with the leader giving me troops, plus these slavers whom I captured and forced to swear loyalty to me,

"Allow my men to examine your mind and you may enter" The dark- skinned woman said.

"III would rather not, but my desire to end Galbatorix's rein outweighs it, but I tell you this, I swear on mine most highest of honors and the corpse of my first killed bear without a stone as a weapon that if I am trustworthy, so are my men" he claimed.

"Is there a chance he is lying?" the dark skinned woman asked to the large brute.

"Chance? Yes. But an urgralgra who swears on his unarmed bear kill is almost impossible for his conscience to let him lie." He said.

"Very well, Ogmarit, proceed." She ordered and a dwarf trotted foreword and he felt a powerful force hit his mind, he lowered his barriers and allowed the surprisingly gentle dwarf explore his mind, within 4 minutes, he reported that the Varden had nothing to fear of him.

* * *

"Your assignment is to find Eragon and drag him back here…ALIVE!" The king told them warningly, "You may redeem yourself Murtagh, or you may remove any trust I still have in you, and you, Paul, you may replace Murtagh as my right hand if this outing goes well."

"Yes, my king" they said together.

** I warned you, review, or else.**


	10. Chapter 10

More than 20 viewers and one review? I'm starting to think you WANT all the cliffhangers. My story will be much more interesting with them, but the end of the story will leave you squirming in anger at me.

**P.S. I recently found interest in star wars original trilogy, and I want to do a combo, so pick (yes, you will have to review), star wars in Eragon time period, star wars plot, but with Eragon time period, or Eragon in Star Wars period with laser blasters, space crafts, and lightsabers. **

**I**

**P.S.S. Woo Hoo! Double digits rule! ****V**

Chapter 10

"Here we are. Utgard." Eragon said to no one in particular.

"So, Solembum, where is the entrance?" Arya inquired.

_You go down through the peak _he replied, bored.

"Saphira?" Eragon said. With that, she lunged up and within 2 minutes, she descended through the peak. Only inside, there was not a dragon, but 38 ra'zac, and 8 lethrblaka. Eragon drew his sword, and slew 7 ra'zac, even though they did nothing to attack him, they pointed their swords at him upon his 7th kill. Then an attack hit his mind like a lance so hard, and so sudden, it knocked him flat to the ground.

_Eragon! _Saphira cried. Eragon staggered to his feat and was struck and hurled against the wall.

_OW! That felt like a dragon whipped me with its tail. _It took him a moment before he realized, he was whacked by a dragon's tail. Then, out of a shadow, emerged a massive, silver beast.

_Who gave you permission to slay my guards? ! Do you have any idea how long it took my rider to permanently change their minds into being my companions? ! _It, she, it was a she, snarled.

"I am sorry, mistress dragon… um, I apologize but, um, what is your name?" Eragon asked.

_Faron, and I must know the names of those we kill. _Faron said, still angry, though to a much lower extent than before.

"Before you kill us, let me explain why we have come here. I am Eragon Shadeslayer. This is my dragon, Saphira, my friend Arya, and this is my companion Solembum the werecat. We have come because we wish to destroy Galbatorix, leader of the old forsworn, creator and leader of the new. He has 3 dragons on his side and we have only 2. Saphira is one, and the other is named Glaedr, he is the last of the elders of old and has lost one of his legs to Galbatorix. We need your help if we are to defeat the one who led the obliteration of the old riders and, if my assumptions are correct, forced you to live in a rock like the dwarves. Arya? Solembum? Saphira? If you have anything to add, say it now." Eragon explained. They all remained silent for several minutes.

_I know you are not lying, I can just sense it, but my rider is dead and I have had no true fights in years. The closest I've come to a fight was when I wrestled with a grizzly bear two years ago. Although I may be able to chose a new rider, depending on my options, and I should adapt quickly. I shall come with you, only one thing. _She told them.

"What is it?" Arya asked.

_This is not the rock of Kuthian, an Island by the name of Sharktooth is. It contains a tool that has never been located; it is the eldunari of our arctic colored father. He is the father of domestic dragons. His name, Galbatorix has hated it for decades, it is: Bid'Daum. _She said with a hint of warning.

* * *

"Do you think we will be able to defeat them?" Paul asked Murtagh.

"Doubtlessly" he replied as they saw the murdered village of Ya'zuac beneath them, smelling dreadful as they saw a mound of rotting bodies in the summertime.

"But didn't Eragon defeat you many times over? And he also chopped off your arm. Plus, now he has that werecat with him and who knows what they can do. And-"

"That is because he had those 13 elves with him pouring their energy into him, and Saphira is now smaller than Thorn, who is much more powerful now, and then there is you, you are almost as strong as me, both magically and with the blade, so Eragon won't know what hit him." He said in a tone that made it sound like he was only saying that to keep him from thinking his little brother better than him.

* * *

Roran walked through the Varden's camp and, before they had to pack for battle, he wanted to get a weapon, the sword didn't work out for him. He meandered his way through the crowd scurrying to and fro the pavilion and he saw the tall, powerful man Roran had wanted to find.

"Fredric!" he called with a raise of his fist to show honor or respect.

"Stronghammer! What can I do you for?" he replied with a grin.

"The sword isn't my weapon," and he pulled up his shirt to show him a series of large purple and black spots and handed him the sword.

"Ack! Those must have hurt. However, we must get you a new weapon quickly!" he said with a smile that had the expression of a warrior about to make his next kill in battle- and enjoying it. But he merely walked over to a rack of spears and pulled several different models of spears off of it. He brought them back to Roran.

"Try these on for size, eh, Stronghammer?" he said. Roran attempted to use them like he had with Horst's spears, but ended up whacking himself with 3 of them, and dropping the other 2. Fredric took them back and tried some two-hand axes, no avail either. He went through many different weapons: spears, axes, pole-axes, mauls, even pikes, but he finally came to his seventh halberd and, after Roran tried it on the training field, nodded, this was his weapon. Fredric nodded but said nothing, but returned to whatever it is he is supposed to do, Roran didn't rightly know.

* * *

Nasuada looked at all of the assembled troops, the Varden warriors, Surdans, Urgals, Kull or otherwise, dwarves, and the wandering tribes. She thought about her odds, the amount of rebel soldiers, the amount of imperial troops, and the position each side had, she realized that she had the short end of the stick. But heading up the Jiet with them were Orrin's armada of monstrous ships, even the sloops were larger than any other ship of their class, and Orrin told her that all the ships have a double-hull, the inside was made of bronze.

"Do you think we can defeat the Fleet of Dras-Leonna and Belatona combined?" She asked Oghyunng, the captain of the fleet.

"The fleet o' Belatona ain't notin compared t'the fleet o' Surda, plus dem there assault ships o' the urgals and da firepower of those there dwarven frigates and galleons." He replied with a heavy accent.

"The way I see it, Dras-Leonna ain't got shit against us when they's apart, they'd gotta be together t' put the hurtin on this armada. Hell, that's prolly the only reason ol Galbatorix don't send his ships to Reaveston er Dauth, cause they wouldn't do nothing to us 'fore they was sittin' on the bottom o' that old ocean themselves, doing nothing but giving fish a home." And with that, he spat off the deck.

"Belatona, in sight!" called a man from the crow's nest.

"Man the Ballistae! Spread th'word t'the rest o'the fleet! And somebody get me my crossbow!" he demanded. And all around, sailors were scurrying to and fro with barrels of javelins, tar, bolts, arrows, and taking down the sails as the rowing crews started rowing, they finished just on time because as soon as they loaded the last tar-coated missile into the ballistae and crossbows and just started lighting them up, a fleet of warships started plowing down the river.

Nasuada clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white, ready to fire a bow from behind when in range. The battle would begin in minutes, if not seconds. The Varden started to move away from the coast and prepared to charge the city.

"_Guntera protect us!" _Narheim whispered beside her, she looked closer and saw that the empire had about 250 ships, all large and ready to fire, the rebel armadas, combined, had struggled to make 400, but the 250 was only about ½ of what came from Belatona. The ships had turned the 90 degrees and as the blazing javelins soared through the air, within a matter of 15 minutes, eleven imperial frigates were sunk, and not a single rebel ship sunk, 7 pretty badly damaged, but still kept firing their deadly bolts.

None of them knew that the land units had made contact with the city until, even above the roar of the ship battle, they heard a massive crumbling as about ¼ of the south end was ripped apart and the red-tunics started pouring out over the dead or injured archers from the wall, but the hole was perfectly too small, the soldiers were limited and slain by archers who fired arrows at the loosening rubble, causing soldiers to fall and die without even fighting. The Varden was starting to scale the pile when a savage roar came from the city- a roar that can only come from a dragon. And up from the city flew a massive red monster with a warrior on its back.

* * *

_Come, we must keep going! _Saphira cried. Eragon hid the eldunari of Bid-Daum in his bag. They were forced to fly over Teirm in order to get to the Varden who were fighting a battle at Belatona. He felt a consciousness touch his own, he recognized it as Trianna and he let her in.

_Eragon help us! Thorn and Murtagh are _here_! We need your help if we are to avoid slaughter at his hands! Hurry!_ And she left.

_Could this be true? _Eragon asked.

_Most likely _said Arya.

_Then we had best accelerate. Saphira! Did you learn the spiral kick dive-bomb aerial whip yet?_

_I've tried it once or twice, but I never understood quite how to do it, it never worked._

_Then today is for quick learning! Follow my lead! _And with her legs, she kicked and dove 90 degree spiraling straight down, easily hitting mach 1.5 with Saphira dead on her tracks. Then, about 10 meters from the ground, they lunged up and were moving almost twice as fast. They reached Belatona within the hour and things were not looking good. Many of the Varden's ships were damaged and mostly every siege engine was a blackened ash pile. Faron had hid underwater to sink imperial ships and to conceal herself from Thorn and Murtagh. Eragon somehow managed to catch them off guard and Saphira sunk her teeth into Thorn's right rear leg. Then, with a twist, she pulled a massive chunk of skin and muscle off before he could react. Thorn roared in pain loud enough for Galbatorix in his castle to hear.

"You!" Murtagh snarled, "I thought you were dead after you're little encounter with Kuthian's beast!"

"Think again" Eragon said with an overpowering sense of warning. _Now Faron! Now! _And within seconds, a massive silver beast was hovering behind Saphira.

"Cute, but we have a surprise for _you, _too. Paul! Bring Emnasia!" he bellowed. And then there was a massive emerald serpent-like dragon right beside him. Then hell broke loose. The fighting was so incredibly swift that not even an elf seeing this at ½ speed for the 8th time could say what happened. But after about 4-6 hours, Thorn tumbled to the ground and barely managed to flap his wings to save him from death. Murtagh healed him to a relatively small degree and the four of them fled into the night sky.

**There you go, keep reviewing, I may yet be persuaded to fix the ending from my hair-pulling cliffhanger, to an annoying one instead. **


	11. Chapter 11

**Hey, I don't have much to say other than enjoy and review.**

Chapter 11

Another soldier was killed by Roran's quickly acquired skill with the halberd. He and several other men were working on breaking into the castle, even though it had steel gates that were now welded shut. The other men took their swords, spears, and the one had a flail, and they stormed the castle gates, even though there were more than 40 soldiers guarding it.

As they slew soldiers, more arrived, and right when they were going to be overrun, four squads of dwarven ax men came in and the groups combined and were continuing to batter the soldiers away until they killed them all.

"What do we do now Sergeant?" one of the men asked Roran.

"We need to bust through this gate, but I don't see how it is possible, these doors are strong and thick, not to mention made of steel." He replied, more thinking out loud than answering the question.

"Allow us to assist you with that." One of the dwarves said as he and 2 others stepped forward.

"Jierda a la Gatvif!" he said and the 3 of them were breaking through the weld on the gate.

_**EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!**_ The gate was ripped in 2 pieces. The lock was still on, but Roran just smashed it with his hammer and they pushed through only to find…

* * *

_Thud! Thud! Thud! _ Eragon was listening to the beat of Saphira's wings as she flew overhead the city to bust the gate open for the Varden to capture the city. He got there and saw that it was already smashed in.

_Urgals I bet. _He said to Saphira.

_Possibly, Little one, but we don't know for sure, do we? _She replied.

Somewhere in the courtyard, there was the sound of battle. Eragon wondered where the rest of the Varden was as he rushed around to the main entrance and saw about 7 men, and 20 dwarves trying desperately trying to combat the soldiers whose numbers reached 100 easy.

_Trianna! Tell the commanders to send troops into the east gate and around to the main entrance! There are too many of them, we can't hold them off forever! _Which technically wasn't true because at that moment, Saphira decided to swoop down from the top of the castle and start tearing the soldiers apart- six at a time. Within minutes, the 136 soldiers were either dead, or surrendered to the Varden as captives. With that, Almost 30 urgals, led by Yarbog, came charging in with their clubs and maces ready.

"What is this, Firesword? You send a distress call and not need it? You will pay for your inso-" his sentence was drowned out by Saphira's roar.

"We will need you, the castle has more soldiers in it and we will soon be overrun with our small force." Eragon explained, but at that moment he saw Roran on the ground, bleeding from the shoulder. Eragon rushed over to him and saw that his cousin was still alive, but he didn't have much time left.

"Waise Hael!" he cast the spell to heal little more than the flesh.

"You!" he pointed to a man in the Varden, "Get him back to the main camp, he needs medical attention. Get the next unit to go with you when you see them. No, wait, Saphira, will you take him back?" he was desperate and confused.

_Time me, 8 minutes. _She said with a hint of overconfidence. 2 urgals loaded him on and she took of like an arrow from a bow. Over the coarse of the next 6 ½ minutes, 15 more Varden and 9 Surdans showed up, bloodstained armor and weapons, dented shields, and overall tired appearances. Eragon nodded to follow him into the palace where his theory was right.

Standing before him were 250 soldiers and about 85 guards. The wall was then smashed as Saphira's fire killed about 25 warriors. The Urgals were in 1st, followed by the Varden and surdans, and surrounded by dwarves with Eragon in the middle of the fight.

"Brisingr!" he barked and his gut-ripping blade burst into flames and lopped 13 soldiers dead in one spin. Saphira was flattening more with her tail, tearing others apart with her talons and fangs, others by knocking pieces of the formerly elegant room onto the soldiers, and still others were cooked within their armor. After around an hour, the last of them were killed, much to Eragon's disliking that they couldn't surrender. He saw that the bulk of their soldiers were intact and a few more soldiers have joined them, including Jormunder and Fadawar.

"A good fight, eh Shadeslayer?" the wiry general with a grin that showed him missing his front 5 teeth, 2 on top and 3 on bottom. Without another word, the swarmed the castle, looking for, and eventually finding the duke inside. He was blabbing on about how he didn't even want to be the duke but he had to until Yarbog punched him in the side of the head.

"Maybe that'll shut him up," said the urgal in an annoyed tone, then he looked around at the other soldiers who were looking at him," what? He'll live." And then he went back to looting the palace.

"Alright, let's get him out of here," Jormunder ordered.

* * *

Another ship sunk from where Nasuada could see. The rebel fleets were dominating over Belatona's fleet. And to make matters better, the new dragon was tearing apart ships from underneath, a weapon that could not be defended against. The rebels were eliminating the black-sails with ease.

"More ships from Reavestone are approaching!" a man in the crow's nest called. The sailors were cheering at the sound of more ships coming. After the last of the imperial galleons were sunk, a bugle sounded, proclaiming victory in siege. A sound that means the duke was captured, dead, or surrendered. By this time, the reinforcements had arrived with enough siege engines to pose enough of a threat to Galbatorix's troops that they wouldn't laugh at them, maybe even dull their confidence, Nasuada dared not get overconfident and believe they could defeat the empire's army, marines (siege engines), and, depending on where they were, coat guard of river ships.

"Aye, they'd best be thinkin' twice 'bout messin' with us, eh?" her admiral said with full confidence.

"Possibly, but I think that after we capture Dras-Leonna, we should send some of the fleet back to Surda for reinforcements, we may- check that, will need them to defeat Galbatorix's military." She replied.

"Leave that to us, Lady nightstalker," the urgal admiral interjected, "We ain't much but support in the fleet, we can send all of our fleet down and get supplies, anything you may need, we'll find a way to get it up here."

"Very well, but we should probably send a diplomat to keep you from being massacred. Perhaps…um…Jormunder! He shall accompany you into Surda, he is well known by almost all the Surdan nobles, Reavestone's lord is actually even his 3rd cousin on his half mother's side. He shall accompany you to Surda," she replied.

"Write this down, we need siege engines, troops, food, fortifications, weapons, and any extra timber they can spare, we will eventually need enough wood for 25, 4-story towers with 4 levels each, we can chop timber where needed, but any help they can spare would be appreciated, but don't let them give us expensive wood, pine, poplar, maple, just no balsa. You got that?" she asked. The urgal grunted in affirmation.

**There ya go, now do me- and yourselves a favor, and review!!!! I don't care if you don't like it, just don't flame it! Thank'ee much.**


End file.
